Fig.07 shows the layer of dirt along the base which was set to Multiply at 40% opacity (Tile02heavy13 - Total Textures: V5:R2 "Dirt and Graffiti"). You will notice that it has been tiled horizontally (U axis) in order to stretch along the whole wall. The vertical tiling is set to 6 in order for it to have the correct proportions but the Tile checkbox is not ticked to prevent it from repeating all the way to the top. The "V" Offset value is set at -0.42 to place the dirt map along the base.

Fig. 07

Fig. 08

Fig.08 shows the dirt map that runs along the top of the wall (tile02medium01 - Total Textures: Volume 5: R2 - Dirt and Graffiti). Again this was tiled only along the horizontal U axis, but this time had a "V" Offset value of 0.3 to anchor it to the top edge.

Fig.09 shows yet another dirt map, except this time both Tile checkboxes were un-ticked to keep the map in the foreground section (tile02light05a - Total Textures: Volume 5: R2 - Dirt and Graffiti). You can also see a map set to Soft Light between 07b and 07c which was used to break up the consistency of the concrete base and add to some random marks.

The supporting struts appeared very small in the final render and so these did not require any unwrapping, instead I used Box mapping (Fig.11). This was a quick and effective way of mapping and ensured that there was no stretching along any axis when a texture was applied. The key point to remember is that the length, width and height dimensions are the same. You need to select the longest dimension from one of these boxes and enter the same value in the remaining two.

Fig. 11

This simple technique was sufficient for geometry set at this distance from the camera, and once done I used a Composite material with just two layers (Fig.12). This provided enough random variation for the struts, and by altering the offset and tiling values one can change the texture pattern.

Fig. 12

The water tower was the only component in the scene that had been unwrapped; the rest of the geometry has been planar mapped. The plants (Total Textures: V10: R2 - Plants and Trees) and wire fence are planes that take advantage of an alpha channel.

To produce the final still I rendered out a colour pass together with an AO and specular version (Fig.13).

Fig. 13 - Final Image

Thanks for reading, I hope you'll be able to apply these texturing techniques to your own projects. For further information on the Total Textures collections, please visit: www.3dtotal.com/textures